SEOUL, December 24 (AJP) - As Christmas Day arrives, trees are lit across the world.
It is a season that calls, however quietly, for peace and harmony — regardless of heartbreak, loss, grievance or conflict — as people mark the birth of Christ in their own idiosyncratic ways.
In Rockefeller Center, the annual tree lighting took place on Dec. 3, as it does every year. Thousands of LED lights pierced the Manhattan night, drawing cheers from gathered crowds. But the ritual is far from uniquely American.
On Red Square, in front of the historic GUM department store, a lavishly decorated tree stands tall. Russia marks Christmas on Jan. 7 under the Orthodox Julian calendar, yet the festive mood is already in full swing ahead of New Year's Eve on Dec. 31.
In downtown Kyiv, an illuminated tree also rises — this year for the third consecutive winter of war following Russia's invasion. 2025 marks another cold season under fire. Yet this year, Ukraine has chosen to officially celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25, aligning with the Western calendar. Even amid sirens and uncertainty, people gathered beneath the lights.
Across Europe, similar scenes unfolded. In Old Town Square, visitors browsed Christmas markets on the fourth Sunday of Advent. In Skopje's main square in North Macedonia, families watched a New Year's — and Christmas — tree lighting ceremony. For those observing the Orthodox calendar, the tree remains a symbol of community and continuity.
In Lebanon's northern town of Zgharta, a 22-meter-high tree wrapped in 4,500 meters of lights was unveiled on Dec. 6, accompanied by fireworks. Amid tensions across the Middle East, people still came together to switch on the lights. Similar scenes appeared in Krakow's Main Market Square, Vilnius, and Athens' Syntagma Square.
Germany's city of Dortmund erected a 45-meter-high tree — one of the tallest in the world. In Nantes, France, crowds gathered around a carousel-shaped tree. Across the Atlantic, Mexico City's Zócalo hosted a sprawling light festival that transformed the historic square.
The year 2025 has not been an easy one. Conflicts endured, economies strained, and many lives were weighed down by hardship. Yet when Christmas came, trees went up — in city squares and town centers, across cultures, calendars and borders.
Beneath the branches, faces softened into smiles. Under warm lights, even on the coldest winter nights, people stood together.
As 2026 approaches, the glow of Christmas trees offers a quiet wish: for more light than darkness, more warmth than fear, and more peace than division. May conflicts find resolution, burdens ease, and laughter return more often.
At this moment, in cities across the world, the glowing trees cast their magical spell of hope.
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